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ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

Week 3______________________

Dr. Teal McAteer-Early

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“Entry” Issues leading up to Socialization

• The Realistic Job Preview (RJP)

• The Psychological Contract

• Organizational Commitment

• Organizational Culture

• Socialization

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What is Socialization?

• Process by which an employee begins to adapt to the values, norms, and beliefs of the organization and its members– Involves learning the organization’s climate and “learning

to fit in”

• Climate– “members’ shared perceptions of the contingencies

between behaviours that occur in the work environment and their consequences”

– Learning what behaviours are expected, acceptable, unacceptable

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Strategic Importance of Socialization

• Sets the tone of employment relationship

• Clarifies expectations / how things are done

• Reduces anxiety for new employees– Will I fit in? Will I enjoy the job/coworkers/etc?

• Effects employee attitudes and behaviour– Job satisfaction, commitment– Job performance

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Socialization vs Orientation

• Socialization– Process of employees adapting to

organization– Long-term process, often informal

• Orientation– Program that informs new employees about

their job and company– Short-term, often formal

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Stages of Socialization

1. Anticipatory (Pre-Arrival)• Employees begin with certain expectations

about organization and job– May be unrealistic – if unmet, result in

dissatisfaction, turnover, etc.

– Realistic Job Preview (RJP) may be helpful• Info about job demands and working conditions –

both positive and negative aspects

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Stages of Socialization

2. Encounter– Employee has started new job– Inconsistencies between expectations and

reality emerge– Needs info re: policies, procedures, etc.

• E.g., via Orientation program– Organizational issues, policies, etc.– Benefits– Introductions– Job Duties

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Stages of Socialization

2. Encounter (cont’d)

– Benefits of a good orientation program• Shows organization values to employee• Reduces employee anxiety and turnover• Reduces start-up costs• Clarifies job and organizational expectations• Improves job performance

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Stages of Socialization

3. Change (Settling in)– Inconsistencies start to get worked out– Employee begins to identify with organization– Transition from being an “outsider” to feeling

like an “insider”– Often involves taking on new attitudes,

values, and behaviours to align with organization’s

– Misalignment = dissatisfaction and turnover

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Comments / Questions ??

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Training

• Training vs Development– Both refer to the learning of job-related behaviour

• Training– Focuses on job performance– Emphasis is on acquisition of specific KSAs needed for

present job

• Development– Focuses on personal growth, longer-term development– Emphasis is on acquiring KSAs needed for future job or

organizational need

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Trends Affecting Training

• Training and development activities have been increasing– Low unemployment = tight labour market

• Organizations compete to attract & retain employees, by offering better T&D opportunities

– New and changing technology – new KSAs– Globalization – training for employees with

international assignments– Mergers, acquisitions, restructuring

• Jobs change, employees need new KSAs

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Training Process Model

1. Needs assessment

2. Design training objectives

3. Develop program content

4. Implement training program

5. Evaluate effectiveness of training program

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Step 1: Needs Assessment

• Needs Analysis– Diagnosis of problems and future challenges that can be

met through training & development

• Organizational analysis– Culture, values, mission, goals, strategy

• Job / task analysis– KSA requirements

• Person analysis– Gaps between employee KSAs and KSAs required by jobs– E.g., performance evaluations, self- or supervisor

identification

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Step 2: Develop Training Objectives

• Must include:– The desired behaviour– The conditions under which it is to occur– Performance criteria

– E.g., “By the end of this week, you will be able to list and define the 5 main steps involved in the development of a training program, without referring to your notes”

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Step 3: Develop Program Content and Learning Principles

• Issues to consider– Needs assessment– Training objectives– Audience– Class size– Time availability– Cost– Training format– Learning principles

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Learning Principles• How do people learn most effectively?• Participation

– Participants are actively involved

• Repetition– Repeated review of material

• Relevance– Material is meaningful

• Transference– Application of training to actual job situations

• Feedback– Information given to learners re: their progress

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Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

• High self-efficacy– Belief one can achieve a

behaviour

• High outcome expectancy– Belief that behaviour will lead

to an outcome of value

Higher level of learning

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Organizational Influences on Transfer of Training

• Relates to trainee’s outcome expectancies– Will the behaviour lead to desired outcomes?

• Rewards, pay, & promotion– Are there rewards for demonstrating the new

behaviour?• Environmental constraints / obstacles

– Lack of equipment, information, time, etc.• Supervisory and peer support

– Reinforce training: provide opportunities, reward– Train coworkers together – reinforce each other

• Organization’s learning climate– Learning is encouraged, supported, rewarded, etc.

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Step 4: Deliver Training

• Numerous methods to choose from:– On-the-job techniques

• E.g., job rotation, apprenticeship, etc.

– Off-the-job techniques• Lectures• Role playing• Case studies• Simulations• Computer-based training• Virtual reality

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Strengths and Weaknesses of various Methods

MethodKnowledg

eSkills Attitudes Transfer

Lecture Yes No No Low

Video Yes No Yes Med

Role play No Yes Yes High

Simulation Yes Yes No High

Case study Yes Med Yes Med

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Step 5: Evaluating Training Effectiveness

• 5 Criteria - Kirkpatrick’s 4 levels plus 11.Reaction

• Are participants satisfied with training?

2.Learning• How much has been learned?

3.Attitude Change (not 1 of Kirkpatrick’s 4 criteria)• Did training result in attitude change?

4.Behaviour change• Did the learning transfer to the job?

5.Results criteria• Was the training worth the cost to the company?

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Evaluating Training

• If possible, use an evaluation method that will allow you to draw accurate conclusions about the program’s effectiveness

• Reaction measures– Important, but don’t refer to effectiveness

• Measure behaviour post-training– Can’t determine whether change occurred

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Pre-test Post-test Design

• Measure → Training → Measure

• Allows you to see if change has occurred• E.g., # of items produced before training = 10/minute• # produced after training = 16/minute

• But, what if other employees who did not receive training average 15 items/minute?– Is training effective?

• Should also use a control group – Employees who did not receive training

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Example of Evaluating Training Effectiveness

• Allied Signal Corp. - Garrett Engine Division– Manufactures jet engines

• 2-day training program– Team building, communication, problem-

solving, etc.– For maintenance teams (that repair the

manufacturing machines)

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Evaluation Design

• Evaluated 4 levels (Kirkpatrick’s levels) using pre-test post-test design with a control group1. Reaction to training

2. Participants’ learning of training content• Paper-and-pencil test pre- and post-training for both trainee and

control group

3. Participants’ on-the-job use of the new skills• Trainee and control groups rated team members’ behaviours

before and after training

4. Relevant organizational outcomes• Equipment downtime; job response time; job completion time

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Results

1. Reaction – high ratings of program

2. Learning– Post-test scores higher than pre-test scores and control group

3. Behaviour change• Better communication, problem-solving, etc. after training and

compared to control group

Response time

Completion time

Down timeCost /

job

Training pre- 4.8 hrs 13.6 hrs 18.4 hrs $1,341

Training post-

4.1 hrs 11.7 hrs 15.8 hrs $1,156

Control pre- 4.4 hrs 11.6 hrs 16.0 hrs $1,165

Control post-

4.4 hrs 11.7 hrs 16.1 hrs $1,211

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Cost-benefit Analysis

• ROI estimate (for 1 month time period)– Based on training vs control group post-tests– $1156 vs $1211 (difference of $55 / job savings)– Avg of 55 jobs / wk (x 4 weeks) = $12,100

benefit– Cost of training = $5,355– Net benefit = $6,745– $6,745 (Net benefit) / $5,355 (Cost) = 1.25– 125% ROI

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Does training increase turnover?

• Debate: Do employers see a return on investment in tuition reimbursement?– 2 sides of the debate:

• Employee development leads to positive employee attitudes and motivates them to stay

• Employee development increases employees’ employment options outside the organization and results in increased voluntary turnover

– Which do you think is true?

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Does training increase turnover?

• Study: Benson et al. (2004) AMJ, 47(3), 315-331.

• In this study, 9543 workers whose company provided full tuition reimbursement were studied

• Results– Turnover is very low while participants are

taking classes or pursuing a degree– When participants complete advanced/graduate

degrees, turnover increases dramatically– However…

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Does training increase turnover?

• When these participants (who completed advanced degrees) were promoted, turnover was less: – 56% less than participants who earned degrees

but were not promoted– 55% less than participants who were promoted

but did not take part in tuition reimbursement• Conclusion – tuition reimbursement can be

an effective retention strategy, provided attention is paid to job-skill match after someone has received an advanced degree

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Comments / Questions